I will read the first 131 p.of any FICTION work, finished or not, and give a review of the story so far. All this I will do for free. Yes, you read that correctly, FREE.
Now do not jump the gun and start slamming me with e-mails. I REPEAT! PLEASE DO NOT JUMP THE GUN AND SLAM ME WITH E-MAIL ATTACHMENTS!I Have Rules. Click Rules now,please.

Google+ Followers

Monday, November 2, 2015

The 131 Preview Review Presents

Marianne Spitzer

I was born in Wisconsin and lived there until I was eighteen. Then I spent eight years in Washington state and California before returning to Wisconsin. I love eerie places and books. I began with a love of Nancy Drew books and as I grew I found H.P Lovecraft, Poe, Agatha Christie, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle among others. When I am not writing, I am reading or watching sunsets. I enjoy making up stories about people I meet or see on the street. I can see a story in a picture, especially if the picture is eerie. My imagination runs wild and free. I have self-published two books of supernatural short stories and a book of children's stories for my granddaughter, Brittney. Gypsy Spirits is my debut novel and the first in the series of three "spirit" books. I have self-published the second and third "spirit" books, "Annamarie and Magdalena" is the second and "Lena" the third. I also self-published a supernatural mystery, THE LETTER. The sequel to THE LETTER, OLD MAN MALONE RETURNS, was released in June 2013. Since then I have added three more Kellie Conley mysteries. I decided to try my hand at a cozy mystery and released "Heavenly Corners," the first in the Annie Ryan series. I took a step outside the box with Kathryn's Justice, a thriller. I am sure my muse will guide me into another story plot.

Well Marianne, I would like to officially Welcome you to the 131 Preview Interview!

So glad you could join me

Marianne

Thank you for having me today. I'm happy to be here.

I just finished reading Dark Corridors which is part of your Kellie Conley mystery series, but is also a standalone. I would like to say as someone who had not read the previous works you did an excellent job on the recaps!

Marianne Thank you. I try to give enough info to keep a new reader informed without becoming boring.

You managed to pepper it in quite nicely

Marianne

Again thank you. As a lover of reading, I don't like to find myself reading what seems like a second story in some books when it comes to backstory. I prefer just a tad of information that relates to the current story line

.

From reading your bio I see that you have an affinity for the creepy authors like Lovecraft Poe, how do you feel they helped influence this particular book

Marianne

I began my love of the creepy stories after watching the Tell Tale Heart in 8th grade English. Reading the authors you mentioned and others opened my mind to the possibility of "what if" and my imagination took over from there.

But this one was more than just a creepy little story this one how to love story at the heart of it did you know that going in or did it develop later on

Marianne

I planned on the love story going in. For anyone who read the previous books knows that Kellie met Max in a previous book, but the romance warmed in Dark Corridors.

I'd say it did

Marianne

Yes, it did.

As a writer you a planner then, rather than a panster?

Marianne

No, not really. I have a sense of where each book will go before I write, but I never make outlines. It seemed as if were time for Kellie to have a good romance.

I get the sense from the back story that she'd had a difficult time with relationships, but it seems you have made up for that

Marianne

Yes, she has. A sad early marriage and the loss of a boyfriend made Kellie due for a solid, interesting relationship. Kellie's "gift" is misunderstood by many. She needed someone who accepted her.

With the paranormal activity in the books, do you do any research or is it all just from your imagination? What with all of the "reality" paranormal research that is out there now at one's disposal.

Marianne

Most comes from my imagination. I have seen many ghost stories and read many books, but I like to dream up something different for each book. I didn't do any particular research for the Kellie books.

What of your other works, I've noted that you have a total of 15 works published

Marianne

My first book was Gypsy Spirits which turned into a trilogy. I wrote a crime thriller in Kathryn's Justice which I did do some research for and received some help from an author friend who is also a retired police officer. The cozy mysteries were relaxing and fun and the children's book was for my granddaughter. The books of short stories I wrote over a number of years.

Has writing been something that's always been with you or was it something you picked up later in life?

Marianne

I have always loved writing since grade school. I wrote short stories for years before trying my hand at my first novel.

And it was love at first publish? lol I know how that goes.

Marianne

Finding Indie publishing was a wonderful thing. When my first book sold its first copy I was over the moon. I think it's something all artists can relate to and understand.

Absolutely! And there's nothing like that first really good review! Makes your toes curl!

Marianne

Yes, it does. It's exciting and for me I had to read it three times. Something I wrote made someone happy. It is an amazing feeling.

The marketing aspect can be a challenge though. What have you found seems to work at least for you?

Marianne

Twitter seems to work best for me. My tweets are retweeted often and I have new followers almost daily. Face Book is also a good medium and there are many promotion pages and author/reader groups. The Face Book pages are nice since there is more interaction with readers.

Do you actually get reader interaction? I know a lot of authors struggle with that. How do you manage to get them to engage? Aside from constantly giving things away?

Marianne

I ask questions and I do get responses. Not many each time, but I find out what they are thinking. I also try to post things at least weekly that my readers might enjoy. It might be a message or a link to a book they might enjoy. Keeping in contact is important, I believe.

What is your take on Events? Like books signings and Expos, have you done any? What were your experiences like?

Marianne

No, I haven't done any. All my books are only in e-book form so I don't have softcover copies to give away.

With all those books I'm surprised you haven't teamed up with createspace or a similar POD... They do excellent work.

Marianne

I have heard that, too and it is something I have been considering. Maybe next year.

What I like about create space is they push my manuscript and cover art on to KDP for me, so I don't have to reformat, it saves time. And they distribute to Barnes and noble now too.

Marianne

Thanks for that info. It was something I didn't know. I'll look into it.

No problem, anything I can do to help.

So you just published Dark Corridors is this going to be it for Kellie Conley? Or will she be coming back?

Marianne

I posed that question to my readers and so far most would like to see Kellie come back. Some believe she deserves to have a quiet life. There will be another Kellie book, but Lance will play a major role.

That could be very cool to see. Are you working on anything new currently or simply breathing easy now that this one is out and done?

Marianne

I see Lance as a new and interesting character. I am working on my next cozy mystery in the Annie Ryan series. I'm always working on something.

He certainly can bring a new perspective to the series he seemed to have a lot of heart

Even if he was filled with trepidation.

Marianne

I'm happy that came through in my writing. I do see him as the hero type to lost souls.

I'd be a bit worried if ghosts spoke to me, too.

Yeah, I think I might get a bit.... Spooked. lol

Marianne

Me, too. I'm not sure what I would do if I had to be the characters in my books.

I don't ever want to think about being any of mine!! OH geeze...... Nope... All kinds of NO!

Marianne

I think it is better to write them than to live their lives.

For sure!

So you said you are working on your next cozy mystery, what exactly is a cozy mystery? I've heard the term but am unfamiliar.

Marianne

Cozy mysteries are soft mysteries. Usually the main character is female and owns her own business or is successful at what she does, but always gets into one mystery or another. Most are set in small towns, there's usually a quirky best friend, a dog or cat that plays a part, and for the most part they are clean reads. A murder may happen, but the gory details aren't there. Also, a romantic interest in the form of a detective or some other investigator.

Ah, you learn something new every day So would you like to give us an idea of what's in store for Ms. Annie Ryan?

Marianne

Annie and her BFF find themselves involved in a decades old murder that affects their lives now and as usual, Annie manages to become a prime suspect in a current murder.

She's also trying to plan her wedding around the crimes.

Sounds like she's going to be a busy bee!

Marianne

They are fun and fast paced. It is a nice break from the ghostly doings in the Kellie books.

What made you decide to start writing them?

Marianne

I enjoy reading them and I thought I would try and see if I could come up with one. It was different from my other works and I like trying new things.

Well it appears to have been working out well for you!

Marianne

I think so. I am thrilled that people read my books and many leave nice reviews. Writing is something I love to do and I plan to continue for as long as I can.

Well I'm sure to look out for your work from now on. Before we wrap up for our interview, is there anything you have going on that you would like to share with my readers? Sales, online events you might be a apart of?

Marianne

Thank you I'm not doing anything right now. Before Christmas I usually offer some of my books free for a few days.

Okay well we'll be sure to keep our eyes peeled for that! Thank you so much for joining me today! This has been great!

Marianne

Thank you very much for having me. I enjoyed this interview. It was fun!

Awesome to hear! Until next time dear readers do check out Marianne and her work!

The In Dreams...Series, The Roads Trilogy, is the accumulation of almost eight years of writing. Begun in 2006 after a D&D campaign

ended S.I.Hayes took the world and created the Unavoidable Road. It took five years as

Shannon spent many months at a time in an undiagnosed Bi-Polar fog.

In 2010, she finally found the help she needed and she has been writing feverishly ever since

The first book wast over 130,000 words, so she decided that it needed to be smaller if only tonot scare readers away form an unknown book that was so thick.

Thus the first trilogy was born.

In between she became the CoAuthor to Awakenings: The Wrath Saga, a Paranormal Drama likened to Big Brother Meets The Real World, of the Preternatural, Several blogs and her own website. S.I.Hayes.com.

S.I.Hayes

I have a mind that is easily distracted and prone to wandering. Tangents are my forte, and vampires have been an obsession long before they looked like Brad Pit or *gag sparkled. Don't get me wrong I love Anne Rice, and good on the other broad for making a buck. But if you think my characters are going to fit a cookie cutter shape of any kind, think again. They live, they love, they eat, sleep and F**k. Whomever and where ever they please. I believe that people are inherently sexual creatures and my characters be they human or something all together else are no exception.